Enlai pulled back instinctively now that he recognized the man.

"Don't be so guarded, Enlai'er! I won't harm you – not in front of everyone,” he said with a smile that failed utterly to soothe Enlai’s nerves. “Besides, I’m a changed man.”

Enlai disregarded this claim and didn't let his guard down. Moments later Shou Fang reached out and gently caressed the back of Enlai’s hand, making it clear that Enlai’s caution was sensible. Enlai jerked his hand back, accidentally spilling the ink all over his clean sheets of paper.

"Now look what've you done, Enlai'er! I told you, I won't hurt you."

Enlai stood and backed away, staring at Shou Fang as if he were a rabid beast. Shou Fang was both pleased and irritated by the hatred and fear that shone from Enlai’s eyes. He was pleased because he liked that he had left a mark on the beautiful she-man who had resisted him all those years ago and he was irritated because it make his current desires that much harder to fulfill.

Back in the village, when Enlai was around the age of fourteen and Jia Yi was only sixteen, the two were friendly with each other. Enlai was already very beautiful and Jia Yi was quite pretty. His family had only recently died and he hadn’t toughened up as he strove to support himself. The two she-men had headed out together one day, past the furthest fields, to search for medicinal plants for the doctor. They weren’t very far from the last field when the second son of the village chief and Shou Fang ambushed them. They pulled the two young she-men into the forest where no cries for help would be heard. As a timid youth, Enlai was scared to death. He was terrified that he would be defiled by the brutes.

His fears were warranted for the young men had decided to rape the two she-men. Jia Yi no longer had a family to protect them and Enlai’s father would never risk damaging Enlai’s reputation by retaliating. Shou Fang had chosen Enlai as his victim and the other took Jia Yi.

As Enlai was resigning himself to hanging himself with a white cloth when he returned home, he was shocked to see Jia Yi beating the village chief’s son with a stick he had grabbed from the ground. Jia Yi’s face was contorted into an expression of rage and the blows weren’t light. Enlai’s courage was ignited and he groped along the ground for a weapon of his own. What his hand fell on was a good-sized rock.

Enlai didn't pause to think and simply bashed Shou Fang on the side of his head with all of his might. Shou Fang fell to the ground in a daze and Enlai raced off as fast as he could back to his father’s side.

Shou Fang told his parents that he had accidentally hurt his head while playing around. Even though he was the son of a lower noble, and his parents tended to spoil him, they were still good people who would never condone rape. He knew better than to let them know what he had done. Later, he found a chance to corner Enlai privately and threaten him to keep his mouth shut or face terrible consequences.

When the village chief’s son accused Jia Yi, Enlai wanted to tell the truth and defend the other she-man but his father wouldn’t let him. If it were revealed that Enlai was almost raped, his reputation would be tarnished and some people would forever doubt Enlai’s purity. When Enlai insisted that he had to support Jia Yi, his father had taken a thin stick and beat the back of his legs until Enlai agreed to keep silent. Over the years, there were other attempts to rape Enlai and every time his father forced him to remain silent about it. It was the beginning of Enlai’s dislike for his father and ultimately led to him running away from the man who only regarded him as a pawn and never cared for him as his own child.

Shou Fang had moved away from the village so long ago that Enlai had almost forgotten he had ever existed. He’d been happy that the boy was gone and Enlai’s nightmares about him had gradually faded away. Now, however, he was right in front of Enlai and Enlai realized that he was still quite afraid of the man who had been the first to try and rape him.

"Get away from me," Enlai hissed, keeping his voice low to prevent creating a scene.

"Hmm?” Fang pretended not to hear him. “I must say, Enlai'er, you've grown more beautiful since I saw you last. You don’t seem as fierce now, though."

Shou Fang picked a lock of Enlai's hair and ran it through his fingers with what looked like a gentle smile but Enlai saw the malice and desire in the other man’s eyes. His skin crawled with disgust and he roughly slapped Fang’s hand away.

"Get away from me!" Enlai cried out, no longer worried about causing a scene.

Heads popped up all around the study area and voices were raised as people took in the ambiguous posture of the two people. Enlai couldn’t take it anymore and turned to run out of the building.

Meanwhile, a father and son entered the grounds of the medical academy. Shou Shan blushed shyly as checked that the gifts in his hand were still safe. He hoped that Enlai would like them as much as Xiaobo said he would. Suddenly unsure, he looked down at his young son.

"Maybe we should go back," Shou Shan said nervously. “Enlai wouldn’t like us disrupting his studies.”

"Father, if you’re going to woo daddy, you should do it boldly – like the silver haired uncle does with his wife."

Xiaobo happily licked the lollipop in his hand while holding Shou Shan's hand with the other. He obviously felt his suggestion was quite reasonable but Shou Shan remembered Meng Yao kissing Jia Yi right out in public and his face immediately reddened. There was no way he could be that thick skinned!

He opened his mouth to suggest leaving again but closed it the next moment. Thinking about it, he realized that ever since Fa Enlai had entered their lives, Shou Shan was closer to Xiaobo than he had ever been before. Maybe if he asked Enlai to marry and Enlai officially became Xiaobo's daddy, then they would be even more like an actual family.

Shou Shan didn’t notice the tender smile creasing his lips as he pictured that desirable scene but Xiaobo did. Xiaobo’s smile was equal parts triumphant and proud.

They both were surprised to see Enlai running in their direction with tears trickling down his face.

"Enlai?" Shou Shan called out, a bewildered expression on his face.

Seeing them Enlai, didn't think but instinctively ran to Shou Shan, hugging him close as if the man were his only anchor in a storm. His shoulders shook as he buried his face against Shou Shan’s chest.

Shou Shan was thrilled at first but then his face darkened as he realized that Enlai must have been bullied. He gently patted Enlai’s shoulders, his heart hurting a little at how delicate and fragile Enlai felt in his embrace. Before he could say anything to comfort Enlai, he felt Xiaobo tugging the hem of his clothes. As soon as he looked at his son, Xiaobo pointed in the direction that Enlai had come from.

Shou Shan saw a man leisurely walking their way with a cocky expression on his face as he looked at Enlai. Shou Shan immediately deduced that this guy was the reason for Enlai’s tears. He immediately began planning to take care of him.